Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I very much thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome the fact we will have an opportunity to discuss a motion on Darfur early next week in plenary session.

Is the Minister concerned that what is taking place in Darfur is a test of the United Nations commitment to the concept of humanitarian protection? Put more bluntly, is it not an abuse of sovereignty to prevent the United Nations from intervening more appropriately?

Is the Minister concerned at the figures given what is needed to resource the current mission? The international response falls very much short of the $350 million in aid that was deemed necessary. Also, there is a serious shortage in logistical capacity. Frankly, there are more troops, police, aircraft and other transport required if the African Union is to make an impact. This is at the core of the issue and it is with reluctance I say it, but my question mentions dispossession and violence against the person. It seems that most of the criteria for defining genocide are met by what is happening in Sudan. Perhaps the most important issue of all, which I should like the Minister to respond to, perhaps next week, is Sudan's reluctance to attend anything other than a Heads of State meeting. Should there be a meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers, as I indicated at the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, which would serve as the first phase of the United Kingdom proposal for a Heads of State meeting dealing comprehensively with the region?

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